Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a puncture tool assembly and a puncture assisting tool that assists in a puncturing of a puncture tool which is used to insert a spacer to be placed between bones.
Background Art
Lumbar spinal canal stenosis is a stenosis of a vertebral canal caused by a regressive degeneration of an intervertebral disk, a ligament, and the like, and causes symptoms such as lumbago, melosalgia, and intermittent claudication. In order to treat the lumbar spinal canal stenosis, a surgical operation through which a spinal column of a part that narrows the vertebral canal is partially incised (laminectomy) and a surgical operation through which the spinal column is fixed (spinal fusion) are in prevalent use. In recent years, a method of placing a metallic spacer between spinous processes and releasing compression of a spinal nerve and a nerve root was developed as a relatively more minimally invasive procedure than laminectomy and a spinal fusion. However, according to the method, a back muscle and ligament have to be incised in order to place the spacer, and thus the degree of an invasion to a patient is still high, and long-term hospitalization is caused.
In order to deal with the problem, a method for inserting and placing the spacer between the spinous processes in a further minimally invasive manner has been proposed. According to this method, an expandable balloon is used as the spacer. The balloon, in a folded state, is percutaneously inserted and placed between the spinous processes. Then, the balloon is filled with a filling material such as a bone cement so that the balloon is expanded,. The filling material is cured after the balloon is filled therewith, and thus the expansion state of the balloon can be maintained semi-permanently.
US Patent Application Publication 2011/0093013A1 discloses a device for inserting and placing a hard spacer between the spinous processes. The device includes an arc-shaped needle, and the arc-shaped needle is inserted into the skin and muscle of the patient so that the spacer, which is attached to a distal end of the needle, is inserted between the spinous processes. However, because the needle is arc-shaped, a force added on a proximal end side of the needle is not transmitted to the distal end of the needle, and it is difficult to insert the needle due to a deformation of the skin and a repulsive force from the skin.